Inspiration #2 Feather Layering

This bike was given to us a couple of years ago. We think it’s an old Raleigh, but it’s been re-branded and re-sprayed a number of times so nothing is certain. It’s obviously been heavily used and not necessarily heavily loved, so we thought it was time for a little freshen-up.

The frame had some little dinks and dents, so we used 2 to 3 layers of Frame Builder's Smoothing Putty to fill them in, and then sanded the excess away once dry.

We then collected magpie feathers from the local wood to use as a stencil template.

We painted the frame Whitechapel and Silvertown (both from the Brick Lane Bikes Collection) in a kind of random way.

Then, while the paint was still wet, quickly added the feathers – so that they stuck. Alternatively, you can use spray mount on the feathers and apply them when the paint is dry.

Try to place each feather over areas of both white and grey paint so as to give the revealed feather-shape depth and interest.

The whole frame then got a coating of Coldharbour Lane.

Removing the feathers gently reveals the white and grey shades underneath. It’s a very subtle look in these colours… but could be super bold if more contrasting colours are used.